Daniel Craig Reveals Which ‘Knives Out’ Co-Star Does the Best Benoit Blanc Impression

At a special live taping of Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, actor Daniel Craig gave insight into his storied career and current turn as Detective Benoit Blanc in Netflix’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Craig dropped many delightful tidbits of Glass Onion information, including which of his talented co-stars does the best Blanc impression.

Craig and Horowitz spoke onstage at a sold-out event at 92NY, where the audience was also treated to an advance screening of Glass Onion. With the madcap mystery fresh on our minds, it was a treat and a half to then hear Craig’s impressions about his character and the hit Rian Johnson movie series. After the critical and box office success of the first Knives Out film, Netflix struck a massive deal with writer-director Johnson, resulting in Glass Onion and (at least) one additional planned sequel. Judging by the audience’s enthusiasm for Glass Onion, it’s hard to imagine there won’t be even more chances for Benoit Blanc to solve crimes in the future.

Craig’s Benoit Blanc, “the last of the gentlemen detectives,” was an instantly iconic character upon introduction, with a curious sort of Southern accent and impeccable style. Blanc can appear an unassuming figure until he releases dazzling solutions to the twistiest of mysteries, and his accent is unforgettable, described in Knives Out as “Kentucky Fried Foghorn Leghorn drawl.” Craig said that it was “fucking terrifying” returning to the role for a second time, concerned that he’d be doing an impression of himself in the first performance. As it turned out, many of his co-stars enjoyed doing actual Benoit Blac impressions while on set. Glass Onion features an impressive ensemble cast that includes Janelle Monáe, Edward Norton, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, and several surprise cameos. But amongst this gathering of luminaries, who does the best Blanc?

When Horowitz asked diplomatically who could perform “the second-best” Blanc in Glass Onion, Craig was quick to answer. According to Craig, it’s the “brilliant, brilliant, brilliant” Kathryn Hahn whose impression was on-point. We’re big fans of Hahn, whose work as the witchy Agatha Harkness in WandaVision helped generate the upcoming Marvel Studios/Disney+ spin-off Agatha: Coven of Chaos. It’s not hard to imagine that Hahn can do anything she sets her mind to, acting-wise—including a pitch-perfect Detective Benoit Blanc.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will make its Netflix debut on December 23rd, 2022.

(images: Netflix, Kaila Hale-Stern)

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Kaila Hale-Stern

Kaila Hale-Stern (she/her) is a content director, editor, and writer who has been working in digital media for more than fifteen years. She started at TMS in 2016. She loves to write about TV—especially science fiction, fantasy, and mystery shows—and movies, with an emphasis on Marvel. Talk to her about fandom, queer representation, and Captain Kirk. Kaila has written for io9, Gizmodo, New York Magazine, The Awl, Wired, Cosmopolitan, and once published a Harlequin novel you'll never find.

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